Tuesday, August 28, 2012

MCT ~ "Show Me Your Technique"

Hello everyone! Emma with My Creative Time has created a fun new segment called "Show Me Your Technique". Every Tuesday, 3 members of the MCT ~ Design Team will have a mini blog hop where hopefully you will learn all kinds of new stuff! I remember when I was brand new to the world of paper crafting, I searched all over the internet for fun tips and techniques - always ready to learn something new. So hopefully this will be fun and exciting for you. You should have arrived here from Amy's blog, if not make sure you go back there so you can start at the beginning.

TECHNIQUE: How to use Odorless Mineral Spirits with your colored pencils.

For all of you who may be intimidated by all the fancy markers out there now, this technique is for you. I learned it last year from a sweet Cricut Circle member named Sandy. And I've also seen Nikki from Scrappin' Navy Wife use it too.

Here are the supplies you will need:

You can find Odorless Mineral Spirits at Walmart in the spray paint section. In order to make it easier to use, I have this smaller bottle, which I got in the spice section at Target. (Since I don't cook...LOL...I just poured out the spice and poured in the liquid). I have Prismacolor ~ Pencils, but any brand you have will do. And in the bottom left corner of the picture are these little pencil like thingies called Tortillons. You can get these at Michaels or Joanns in the art section.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Stamp the image of your choice. (I use black ~ Ranger Archival Ink).

Color in the image with your colored pencils. (For my images today I colored fairly lightly, but you can color darker if you want).

Take your Tortillon and dip the tip of it into the Odorless Mineral Spirits.

Then, use the Tortillon and go back over the coloring - using the same motion just like you were using the colored pencil . (I use a different Tortillon for each color).

Periodically, you will need to keep dipping the Tortillon into the Odorless Mineral Spirits and continue as before.

What you will notice is that the color will become much deeper and richer, as well as look a little smoother. Here are some before and after images:

The paper for this card is from the Recollections ~ Sugar Plums stack. I used some pop dots behind the snowman. I also added some Glossy Accents to his hat. The crinkle ribbon is from my stash. I used Versamark ~ Watermark Ink and White ~ Stampendous Embossing Powder to heat emboss the sentiment. Inside is a yummy Ghirardelli Chocolate!

The paper for this card is from the Recollections ~ Jingle Bells stack. I used some pop dots behind the little snowlady. And I added some Glossy Accents to her hat. The pretty twine is The Twinery ~ Pink Sorbet twine.

The paper for this card is from the Recollections ~ Sugar Plums stack. I used some pop dots behind the Santa coat. I added Star Dust ~ Stickles for some sparkle. And the bow is made with white ~ DMC floss.

Here are some final comparison photos:

Well, that's it my creative friends. I hope you learned something new. Don't be afraid to try it. It's super fun and super easy. And it's just a little something extra to make your projects really pop!!! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email me. :)

47 comments
:

I will NOT BE AFRAID! lol.... I've used my pencils, but I was terrified to use the mineral spirits!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVED your technique & THANK YOU for giving me that EXTRA PUSH I needed to use my mineral spirits w/my prismacolor pencils!!!Big HUGE hugs, Emma:)

What a great tip and you do such a fantastic job at coloring it is amazing how different the look is. You are extremely talented my girl who cares that you don't cook!! Maybe Rachel Ray can't color (LOL)

Ahhhhh.....one of my all time favorite techniques! I've shied away from it for so long now. You have inspired me to break out the Gamsol and Prisma pencils! Your cards are adorable and your coloring is fantastic! TFS!

WOW, love that technique. I know I like using my pencils but the coloring doesn't look smooth, now I see using the mineral spirits will make me want to use the pencils so much more. Can the spirits be used with any colored pencils?

I have a bunch of PrismaColor pencils and I've tried this technique with baby oil (just not the same too greasy). Anyway, I've just been afraid to use the OMS with the kiddos around but I think that I'm finally ready to give it a try and just keep the OMS far out of their reach. These turned out BEAUTIFUL! Hugs- Glora

I love how there's a way to use colored pencils to get a much nicer look! FYI, it works the same with baby oil! And from my experience, it DOESN'T still smell like baby oil after it dries, so that won't be an issue.

OK, Girlfriend I will give it another try. I may not have been using the right odorless spirits. My blending never looked like this. With your picture-torial I am brave enough to try again. Gotta get to Walmart on the way home...lol. Smooches...

I guess I need to put the mineral spirits on my list of things I need to get...this is great and really brings the colors out more. I better remember to get the Tortillons also :D Would be just like me to forget those!quilt 4 fun 2 at hot mail dot com

I love coloring this way and this is a great way to color when you don't want to use the bigger markers on such a small stamp. I've seen people color with the spirits and the pencils and I've sworn that they used Copics when they didn't. Great tip!!!

Super tip. I will have to look for these items next time I go to Walmart. I will have to give this a try. LOVE the way the cards look after using this technique. Thanks for sharing.Ogdendoll @gmail.com

Your cards are absolutely adorable, (so are Emma's stamps)! I can't afford to invest in markers, but with 4 kids, I have dozens of colored pencils! This will definitely spark some of colored projects to life...Thank you!

I can honestly say that I'm one who's been so intimidated and scared of trying markers. They're just so expensive and I'm terrified to invest so much money in something that I may or may not like. That's why I'm so very happy that you've shared this technique. I've never heard of mineral spirits before, but I love the effect that it has on the color pencils! Beautiful projects (as always)! I especially love the Santa jacket with the pretty stickles :)